Unresolved
by Catalina Leigh
Summary: It'd been a day full of memories for Gibbs. But he wasn't the only one. A fact he almost forgot until Ducky reminds him. Now, he has to make sure Tony remembers a few things too. -Tag to 5x07-Requim- -Slightly AU-
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, etc., etc.**

 **A/N: This started out as a pre-series AU flashback tag to 5x07-Requim, but then it turned into two separate stories. This is a tag to Requiem, yes, slightly AU. I tried to keep timelines/dates as canon as I could, but feel free to let me know if anything's off. No flashbacks in this one, but the second chapter is almost all background info. It's not a long story, but too long to just be a oneshot. Starts the evening after Tony saves Gibbs and Maddie at the docks. Enjoy!**

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"Maddie," Tony greeted in surprise, seeing the young woman approach his desk.

It was late. Tim and Ziva had already gone home for the night. But he hadn't wanted to go home, not tonight. So, here he was doing paperwork. Yet, when security had called up and said he had a visitor, he hadn't expected it to be Maddie Tyler.

"Hey Tony," Maddie smiled.

"You okay?" Tony furrowed his brows as he stood up to face her.

She chuckled softly. "Yeah. Thanks to you."

Tony cleared his throat, trying not to let his inner discomfort out.

"I looked for you in the hospital, but they said you'd already checked yourself out."

"Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of hospitals," he shrugged.

"Never were." She was smirking pointedly.

He gave a conceding grin before she continued.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you. You know, for saving my life and all."

"Not necessary," Tony said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"No," she drawled. " _But_ I want to. If it wasn't for you and Gibbs – I don't know what would've happened."

Tony sighed. "But it didn't," he said firmly.

Maddie smiled. "No. It didn't. _Thank you_."

Chuckling lightly, Tony nodded. "You're welcome," he said sincerely.

Still smiling, Maddie told him, "I should go."

"Take care Maddie."

"You too," she replied, giving him a hug.

Tony returned it and nodded.

She'd only taken a couple of steps away before turning back and saying, "Ya know, I think it's really cool you and your dad work together."

Taking a deep breath, Tony nodded, not trusting himself to say anything.

"It was good to see you again Tony."

"You too Maddie."

After the elevator doors shut, Tony let out a heavy sigh.

"Was that Maddie?"

Sighing again, Tony should've known he wasn't the only one still here. And that the other person always seemed to show up at the exact time Tony would rather see anyone else.

"Yep," he answered simply, returning to his desk to begin shutting off his computer and gather his things.

"What'd she want?" Gibbs asked, sipping on his coffee as he walked to his own desk.

"To say 'thank you'."

Gibbs stopped. He turned and looked at his senior field agent. The pointed look he received was gone in an instant, but it matched the tone that had gotten the team leader's attention.

Narrowing his eyes, the marine watched Tony for a minute. "You okay?" he finally asked, concern beginning to seep into his voice.

Tony paused and looked at the older man as if he'd grown three heads, or had just told him he couldn't eat pizza ever again. "Are you seriously asking me that right now? After today?" he retorted incredulously.

There was a harsh edge that Tony didn't let show most of the time. Gibbs had seen it before. Usually he would tread carefully, knowing Tony's temper rivaled his own. Not this time.

"You got a problem, DiNozzo?" Gibbs snapped, taking a step closer to the younger man.

For a second, Tony just stared, not answering. Letting out a scoff, he shook his head.

He had grabbed his bag and was in the elevator before Gibbs could even think to stop him.

The team leader stared after his agent for a moment, but then just shook his head and turned to go to his desk. Or that had been the plan, until he actually turned and came face to face with Ducky.

"Is Anthony alright?" the medical examiner asked. But from his tone, he already knew the answer.

Gibbs rolled his eyes, and gave the doctor a pointed look. "Why don't you tell me?" he suggested sarcastically. His impatience was obvious, and he was wearing his 'get to the point' scowl.

Ducky sighed, but relented. "Very well," he snapped softly. Gibbs wasn't the only one annoyed with his friend. "I know Tony is very adept at hiding his true feelings, so it's easy to forget or miss sometimes, but _you_ of all people, Jethro, should remember that."

"What the hell are you talking about, Duck?" Gibbs asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.

Now it was Ducky's turn to roll his eyes. "Oh _please_ , Jethro! Surely, you don't think today's events didn't affect him as well."

The doctor's stern words finally broke through the haze Gibbs had been walking around in since Maddie had shown up that morning. And Ducky saw the moment guilt-filled realization hit the marine. But that didn't stop him from making sure he'd made his point.

"You are not the only one who lost loved ones," Ducky said firmly. Gibbs closed his eyes, but, despite a long pause, the medical examiner wasn't finished. He had a question he needed answered. "Did Anthony ever _really_ grieve?" he asked softly.

Gibbs opened his eyes and swallowed.

Ducky had his answer when the senior agent finally met his gaze. He sighed. "You don't even know, do you?" he asked sadly.


	2. Chapter 2

Gibbs sighed heavily when he dropped his keys on the table after returning home. He'd looked for Tony for over an hour. But when the younger man hadn't been at his apartment, the marine wasn't really sure where to look. After Ducky had helped him see what was going on with Tony, Gibbs thought back to their conversation before he'd stormed out of the office to try and figure out where the kid's head was at. He knew with the mood Tony was in, he wouldn't want to be around people, so bars were out. But barring calling all the local hotels or having McGee or Abby trace his phone, which was on even though Tony wasn't answering his calls, Gibbs didn't know where to look. He'd driven around to a few hangouts he knew of, but no luck.

Looking around his living room, the marine's eyes were drawn to the bookshelf. Walking over, he pulled out the photo album he hadn't touched in years.

He sat down on the couch and started flipping through the pages, finally finding the one he was looking for.

A neighbor had taken it for them. There was a younger Gibbs, with his arm around Shannon. They were sitting on the top step of the porch. On the step below was a seven year old Kelly, hugging an eighteen year old Tony, who was hugging her right back. All of them were smiling.

Gibbs smiled just looking at it. He remembered that day. It was the day they'd left to drive Tony to Ohio State for his freshman year of college.

Tony had only been living with them for about a year, and Shannon wasn't ready to let him leave. She didn't want one of her babies so far from home. Him on deployment was one thing; one of her children moving out was another. Tony had managed to calm her down by reminding her that he could've gone to UCLA and would've been on the other side of the country, but this way he was only a seven hour drive, or a few hours by plane, away.

Kelly hadn't wanted to see him go either. She loved having a big brother, and didn't want him to leave. But Tony promised to call a few times a week so they could talk. And Shannon had reminded her that they would be going to his games whenever they could, and that he'd be home for holidays. Still, Kelly had given him Charlotte, her favorite stuffed animal, to keep him company. And Tony gave her the basketball Gibbs had gotten him when he made the school basketball team right after he moved in, and told her they'd play one-on-one whenever he came home.

Sighing, Gibbs remembered he hadn't been too thrilled at the idea of Tony leaving either. It hadn't been an easy transition when Tony first moved in.

Sure, he and Kelly got along great right from the get-go; it was how they'd met Tony in the first place. The teenager had been wary of Shannon at first; something they later figured out was because she was nice and motherly to him. Granted, he much preferred to face Gibbs than Shannon when he got in trouble, but that was because Gibbs would yell and punish and make sure he'd learned something from it; Shannon was stern, would punish and make sure he'd learned, but she never yelled. At first, Gibbs had been curious as to why Tony would rather get in trouble with him than Shannon, but when Tony explained that it was her eyes, Gibbs understood. He'd been on the receiving end plenty of times himself.

Things between him and the teenager had been rocky in the beginning. Still were, if he was being honest. Kelly had been the one to meet Tony; Shannon had been the one to invite him for dinner that first night; Gibbs had learned that it was better to go along with his girls than try and argue, so he'd just gone along with it at first. It had taken finding out how Tony had really gotten to DC and confronting the teenager before Gibbs had finally seen what his girls had seen. It was different for him, but he understood how Kelly had gotten attached so fast, and why Shannon's maternal instincts were coming out. After all, he'd been the one to bring Tony home for good, and make it legal. But with Gibbs being Gibbs, Tony's attitude, and their combined stubbornness, it had made an explosive first couple of weeks. Finally, Shannon was able to get Gibbs to realize his normal methods weren't going to work with the teenager, Tony realized they weren't going to send him away no matter what he did, and after a day of just the two of them, things started to calm down.

Gibbs and Shannon had worked hard to help Tony with his insecurities, but they never truly went away. And even if he never admitted it to anyone, Gibbs had been worried that when Tony left for college, he'd never come back. But then, after helping him get settled in his dorm room, when they were saying goodbye, Tony had returned their 'I love you's. He'd thrown it around jokingly before, but the sincerity that time had let them know he really meant it. Family had been a foreign concept for him when he'd first come to live with them; though it didn't take long for him to start referring to Kelly as his little sister, it had taken months before he called them Mom and Dad. Love was the same way. He'd thought Kelly was just being a little kid when she told him she loved him; he was suspicious when Shannon had said it. It took him a while to realize they really meant it when they told him he was part of their family and that they loved him. But it wasn't until that day that they'd realized he had finally accepted it, and understood what it meant.

It hadn't been an easy pill to swallow a few weeks later when he got his orders to deploy. Gibbs remembered wishing Tony had been just a little younger so he could've still been with Shannon and Kelly, since it was the first time Gibbs had deployed since Tony joined the family. Tony had come home for Thanksgiving, and found out how much had to be done to prepare for a deployment; Gibbs had head slapped him when he said he was thinking about taking time off from school to stay and help Shannon and Kelly. He knew it'd be good for them to all be together, but he wasn't going to let Tony sacrifice his education. He'd simply told him to call more, and make it home whenever it could, but not to skip classes, practice, or games. Gibbs and the girls managed to make it to one of his basketball games on their way to Pendleton. It was the last time they were all together. He'd deployed, Shannon and Kelly had been in California, and Tony was in school in Ohio. Tony hadn't been able to come see him off because he had a game, but he'd made it out afterwards and stayed with Shannon and Kelly for the weekend before going back to school. A couple months later, Gibbs had been grateful Tony had been away at college, or he would've been in that van with the girls and Gibbs would've had to bury him too.

But Ducky was right. Gibbs didn't know if Tony had ever really grieved. He'd been overseas when Shannon and Kelly died, then the explosion, and the coma. It wasn't until he'd woken up in Bethesda that he'd seen Tony. They hadn't talked on the phone, and their letters didn't say much; Shannon and Kelly had been the writers in the family. Even after Gibbs was released though, they didn't really talk much. Other than Tony being pissed when Gibbs went off to Mexico and wouldn't take the nineteen year old with him, they never spoke about it. They packed all things Shannon and Kelly out of sight, cleaned out the master bedroom, and sealed off Kelly's bedroom all in silence. He knew it was just like Tony to bury things and pretend they didn't bother him, but he honestly couldn't say he was much better.

Gibbs joined NIS; Tony went back to school. Gibbs made it to a few games; Tony visited a few weekends. But they didn't really see or talk to each other much. Work or school and sports were always the excuses.

When Tony broke his leg, or rather now-Doctor Brad Pitt broke his leg, Gibbs took time off and stayed with him in the hospital. His recovery went much like Gibbs's had, just with Tony being the one injured this time. Neither of them really talked. Gibbs figured Tony would talk if he wanted to.

A lot of times, though not as much as people thought, Tony would fill silences with random trivia or useless rambling, but Gibbs had never been a big talker; Shannon had always been the one to force conversations when things needed to be dealt with.

Maybe that was why it had taken years before they had finally started to have a real relationship again. After college, when Tony had joined the Peoria Police Department, he hadn't told Gibbs until the day before he started the Police Academy; it wasn't even until after he joined NCIS that Gibbs found out why Tony became a cop in the first place. Then when he moved to Philadelphia, Gibbs hadn't found out until he got a call from Tony's sergeant when he was shot. After Tony blew him off when he tried to find out why the kid had switched jobs and cities and not told him, Gibbs realized that the fear he'd had when Tony left for college had finally come true.

Gibbs had thrown himself into work as a way to cope. So had Tony. Gibbs had pretended to have commitments with the three now-ex-wives. Tony had simply avoided commitment altogether. He wouldn't stay in one place long enough to get attached, and he never stayed with the same girl if she let slip even the tiniest hint of wanting an actual relationship.

After finding out his sergeant in Philly had called Gibbs when he got shot, and the ensuing argument between him and the marine, Tony switched his next-of-kin to a fraternity buddy; which later switched to his partner in Baltimore.

When they'd ended up on a joint investigation, Gibbs knew it was probably his last chance at getting through to Tony. He'd suggested Tony join NCIS when he went to Philadelphia, and had kept suggesting it whenever they talked; however rare that was. So when Tony was forced to work with him, Gibbs rolled the dice, and pushed him to fill out an application.

It wasn't until Tom Morrow approached him and wanted to know what it was about the Baltimore detective that had Gibbs interested in someone for his team, despite Tom's numerous attempts after Burley left, that Gibbs found out that Tony finally applied. All Gibbs had told Morrow was Tony's strengths as a cop, which were all true; Gibbs had kept a close tab on him, even if Tony didn't know it. He knew that if Morrow really looked at either of their backgrounds then he would find the connection between the two men. But since it was never mentioned, Gibbs figured that either Tom hadn't looked, or more likely just decided not to say anything unless it affected the job.

Ducky was the only one at NCIS that knew. He'd listened to Gibbs complain for years about the wayward and stubborn young man. That, and of course, he'd met Tony at Gibbs's last two weddings. And that hadn't changed in the six years Tony had been with NCIS. No one else knew about the connection. Even when he was in another coma, apparently Tony had played ignorant, and Jenny hadn't found it when she found out about Shannon and Kelly. As far as he knew, Ziva hadn't even found out when she'd prepared the dossiers on them.

Things were better now, that was for sure. But Gibbs knew they weren't like they had been. Everything had changed when Shannon and Kelly died. He'd spent years avoiding it, never letting people find out. Apparently, so had Tony. He knew his last coma had thrown Tony for a loop; Ducky had told him that the kid had seemed off for a few weeks afterwards. That could've been due to a number of things, but Gibbs had seen the look in Tony's eyes before he got on the plane for the Mexican beach with Franks. It was the same look he'd had the first time Gibbs left him to go to Mexico. And it had taken them a while to get back from that; Tony had grown up more, and Gibbs's memory was still returning. But after the whole thing with La Grenouille had literally blown up, and a lot of bourbon, they'd talked, or rather yelled, it out and things were better between them.

When he remembered all the issues that had come up that night, Gibbs head slapped himself for being so stupid.

Standing up, he made his way over to the basement. When he opened the door, he found the light was still off. He flicked it on and made his way down the steps, stopping about halfway at the sight that greeted him.

Tony was sitting on the floor by the workbench, leaning back against the wall, his knees halfway up to his chest, and an almost empty bottle of bourbon in his hand.

"Becha wishhed you'd put that lock on now, huh?"

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 **A/N: I hope you like it so far! I hate to leave it on a cliffhanger, but I have to go to work and be a responsible adult in the morning, so I've gotta eat (which I haven't done for hours because I've been writing) and get some sleep. I'm gonna try to get the next (and probably final) chapter up within the next couple of days, but it'll depend on whether I get stuck working overtime or not. Anyway, as always, reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry, I didn't get this up sooner. I actually had it finished last night, but I wanted to reread it with a fresh set of eyes cause it was starting to feel a little OOC to me. But Gibbs and Tony are stubborn, and do their own thing. In this scenario, I hope you'll understand why I ended up not changing it.**

 **I also added the last couple lines from the previous chapter since this starts right where it left off.**

 **Enjoy!**

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 _Tony was sitting on the floor by the workbench, leaning back against the wall, his knees halfway up to his chest, and an almost empty bottle of bourbon in his hand._

 _"Becha wishhed you'd put that lock on now, huh?"_

Gibbs sighed, and continued down the steps. "Why?" he retorted. "I told ya I'd just tell your mom." The marine ignored the way Tony flinched slightly. "Besides, few years later you were old enough to drink anyway. And I'd rather you get drunk somewhere safe than God only knows where."

He stopped in front of Tony, who finally looked up at him through glassy eyes.

Tony scoffed. "Betch're rethinking that now that your senior field agent is drunk on your basement floor with your bourbon." Despite being drunk, Tony wasn't slurring much.

Taking a breath, Gibbs squatted down so he was level with the younger man. "Right now – Hey!" He grabbed Tony's chin and made him look him in the eyes before continuing as softly as he'd began. "Right now, you're not my senior field agent Tony."

After a brief staring contest, Tony chuckled and knocked Gibbs hand away. "Firing me, Boss?" he joked.

Gibbs scowled. "No," he said firmly. "Right now, I'm not your boss, I'm your father."

"Since when?" Tony shot back viciously as he struggled into a standing position.

Gibbs stood too, blocking Tony's escape.

Tony scowled back, but then apparently decided to release the anger; which is what Gibbs had been hoping for.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to see Maddie today, and act like I didn't know her or why you ran off without backup or even telling any of us anything, _again_?!"

Yelling is exactly what Gibbs had been pushing for, but the brutal, direct challenge in Tony's words had the marine's guilt in overdrive.

"I'm sorry."

Whatever Tony was feeling, the anger that was radiating off of him; he froze when he heard those quiet words. The shocked expression would've been comical in a different situation.

Not acknowledging that he'd just broken one of his rules, Gibbs used Tony's distraction to take the bottle out of his hand. Holding it up, he looked the younger man in the eyes and spoke in his usual blunt fashion, except his tone was soft. "But _this_ – won't help what you're feeling… _Trust me_."

Swallowing, Tony stared at Gibbs for a minute.

The older man could see the anger coming back.

"And how the _hell_ would you know what I'm feeling?" Tony hissed.

"Because I've been there," Gibbs shot back in quiet, fervent honesty.

Gibbs could see the unease dancing at the edges of Tony's anger. He knew what was coming, and sat the bottle down on the workbench beside them.

So, when Tony moved to try to get around him and make his escape, Gibbs was ready, and caught him quickly. Grabbing a handful of Tony's collar with the hand not holding onto the kid's arm, Gibbs backed him into the wall and pinned him there.

"No," he growled, his firm tone unwavering as he got right in Tony's face. "You're _done_ running from this."

"Running from what?" Tony retorted in disbelief. His comic defense was rearing its head, a sign to Gibbs that he'd hit the nail on the head. "I'm just trying to get out of your way and go home!"

"You are home!" Gibbs snapped back.

Hurt flashed across Tony's eyes before he could avert them. When he looked back, the anger and defensiveness were gone, replaced by desperation. He struggled to get out of Gibbs's grasp, but the marine held firm.

"Hey! Look at me!" Gibbs ordered. Tony still struggled, and Gibbs repeated himself louder and harsher. " _Look_ at me!"

Reluctantly, Tony finally met his eyes. Insubordination shined bright out of those green eyes; reminding Gibbs of the seventeen year old he'd convinced a social worker to give him and Shannon custody of.

Softening his voice, Gibbs told him firmly, "It's _okay_ to miss them."

Again, Tony struggled to get away, but he was no match for a determined Gibbs, especially in his drunken state.

Gibbs could see Tony beginning to lose control of his emotions. He was fighting it with everything he had, but between the day they'd had, the alcohol, and Gibbs's refusal to let him run, well, even Tony had his breaking point.

"It's _okay_ to miss them," Gibbs repeated, squeezing Tony's arm. "It's _okay_ to be angry. It's _okay_ to be sad."

Tony closed his eyes, and tried to throw Gibbs off again.

But this time, Gibbs didn't keep him pinned against the wall to stop him from running. Instead, Gibbs pulled him into a hug.

At first, Tony fought to escape the strong embrace. But when Gibbs refused to let go, and just continued to hold him, the younger man finally gave in.

It was as if he just deflated. He practically went limp in Gibbs's arms, and the marine eased them down to the floor, never lessening in the hug that would've made Abby proud.

He felt Tony start shaking, and held on tight. Gibbs's hand was on the back of the younger man's head, bringing it down onto his shoulder. A minute later, the marine felt his shoulder getting wet.

Closing his eyes, he just held onto Tony; tempted to sigh in relief when he felt arms wrap around him, returning the hug and holding on for dear life.

"I miss Mom and Kelly." The whisper was broken and anguished.

"Me too," Gibbs sighed, ignoring the liquid clouding his own vision. "Every day."

When Gibbs felt Tony stop shaking, he heard him take a shaky breath.

"I can't lose you too." Despite the still broken voice, Tony's statement was firm and serious.

"Right back at ya," Gibbs replied quietly, but just as serious.

Eventually, they settled back so they were leaning against the wall for support, but Gibbs still hadn't released his hold on Tony. And Tony seemed to not mind. Under normal circumstances, the marine knew the younger man would never allow such open displays of affection. But these were not normal circumstances, and Tony was inebriated. Neither of them were acting like they normally would, but then again, Shannon had always told him usual methods didn't work with Tony. She was right. So he used the opportunity to get one last point across.

"I love you Tony."

"Love you too Dad."

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 **A/N: Ok, I know it got a little mushy there at the end. I didn't plan it that way, but honestly, I couldn't get it to work any other way.**

 **Hope you liked this story! I am going to do a sequel that will take place about a year after this and have flashbacks showing how Tony ended up with the Gibbs. I don't know when I'll have it finished and posted.**

 **Anyway, as always, reviews are greatly appreciated!**


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